"Youqiao, your previous disciple died in battle. Now that the sect is expanding, it is indeed time to take on a new Direct Disciple," said Zhao Xiaosheng.
"If the right one comes along, I will," Qian Youqiao replied.
"What was his name again? The one who rocketed from Qi Condensation to the 3rd Layer of Qi Condensation in a single year—he would suit you quite well," Lin Tianyan said deliberately, knowing full well that Qian Youqiao held no appreciation for Zhou Chuan.
"The 3rd Layer of Qi Condensation, earth spiritual root—such trash! How do you have the nerve to foist him upon me?" Qian Youqiao snapped, his face darkening with annoyance.
"If he doesn't want him, when the time comes, I or the other Elders will snap him up. No one better try to steal him," Zhang Jie chimed in.
"Ha ha!" Lin Tianyan laughed heartily.
Once the five Golden Core stage figures started chatting, the ordinary Elders basically had no room to chime in. After all, the gap between Foundation Establishment and the Golden Core stage was an impassable chasm.
A long rainbow streaked across the sky like a shooting star, and a figure suddenly appeared on the arena stage: Liao Qingshan. Liao Qingshan was currently the Elder of the Outer Sect Law Enforcement Hall.
"Quiet down!" A single command, laden with overwhelming pressure, instantly brought absolute silence to Brightness Peak.
Liao Qingshan's divine sense swept across the crowd, ultimately coming to rest on Zhou Chuan. Zhou Chuan had recently developed a keen sensitivity to divine sense; sensing this formidable and invasive gaze probing him, he dared not even breathe.
"3rd Layer of Qi Condensation mid stage, and he has only cultivated for a single year. Not bad!" Liao Qingshan muttered to himself.
Knowing that the sect master, vice sect masters, and Elders placed a high value on Zhou Chuan, he had paid special attention to him.
"Today is the day of the Water Talisman Sect's Outer Sect Sparring Tournament, and I am very glad to see you all here. The tournament rules have been announced in advance. I will now announce the generous rewards for this competition: the top fifty contestants will each be awarded three rank-two spiritual pills, ten rank-two Spirit Talismans, one set of cultivation techniques from Baili Pavilion, and three sets of martial skills."
A continuous wave of uproar swept through the crowd of disciples. Zhou Chuan was equally astonished. He knew the market price of these items; the rewards as a complete set were an astronomical figure.
He had originally given up on the competition long ago, planning to just wander off to the plaza and call it a day. Now that he knew the prizes, he felt more than a little regret at not having prepared seriously.
"For the top ten, additional rewards include one rank-two spirit sword, one seed talisman, ten rank-two spiritual pills, and fifty sect contribution points." Liao Qingshan's words struck the crowd like another round of bombardment.
A rank-two spirit sword would cost at least a hundred middle-grade spirit stones at the absolute minimum. A seed talisman was an immensely important type of talisman; every talisman master needed to forge their own natal talisman, and a natal talisman could evolve from a seed talisman. In other words, a seed talisman was the malleable embryo of a natal talisman.
The addition of spiritual pills was meant to rapidly boost cultivation; the higher one's cultivation level, the harder it was to progress, making the aid of pills indispensable. While pills did have side effects, moving forward without them was utterly impossible.
Sect contribution points were an even greater temptation, as a single task only yielded five contribution points. Fifty points was equivalent to being handed ten completed tasks for free. The precious items in Baili Pavilion could not be purchased with spirit stones—they only accepted contribution points. Having contribution points in hand was the only way to exchange for the true treasures of the Water Talisman Sect.
"For the top five, an additional chance to explore and treasure-hunt in the Suoluo secret realm."
The veteran disciples naturally understood the significance of the Suoluo secret realm. The very reason the founding patriarch of the Water Talisman Sect chose to establish the sect in Qi State was because of the Suoluo secret realm, with the ultimate intention of claiming it for themselves. This secret realm had been known to exist for over ten thousand years. It was the true treasure vault of the Water Talisman Sect.
Historically, only those who successfully broke through to the Foundation Establishment Cultivation were granted a single opportunity to enter the secret realm to seek their fortuitous encounters. To open it to outer sect disciples now—and specifically to those at Qi Condensation Levels 3 and 4—was simply unbelievable.
"Alright, the drawing of lots will now begin."
Though the drawing was ostensibly random, the immortal sect had arranged for those at the 4th Layer of Qi Condensation to draw their numbers first, locking them into the earlier sequence. This was undoubtedly to prevent the seeded contenders from eliminating each other too early, saving the most exciting clashes for the final stages.
Soon, thirty-one disciples had obtained their number tags. As for the rest, it was treated equally; whoever drew first made no difference.
During the draw, Zhou Chuan got separated from Zhong Xiu. He drew the eightieth tag. Since the matches proceeded in ascending numerical order, his turn would come quite late. The good news, however, was that he had completely avoided the seeded competitors—namely, those at the 4th Layer of Qi Condensation.
"Brother Chuan, what number did you draw?" Zhang Yuan found Zhou Chuan and asked.
"Eighty."
"I drew seventy-nine! What a coincidence, your match comes right after mine. We both managed to dodge the 4th-layer fighters; we're so lucky."
"Mmm, do your best out there."
Clang, clang, clang! The bronze gong rang out.
The referee was Elder Zheng Yuanhua, whom Zhou Chuan was meeting for the first time. To become an Elder, one basically needed to have Foundation Establishment Cultivation.
The contestants for the first match of the initial round stepped onto the stage. Zhou Chuan recognized both of them, and a pang of anxiety stirred within him.
Lu Yao, who had taken first place in the entrance trials, was pitted against Zhong Xiu.
"The match begins!" Zheng Yuanhua shouted.
Instantly, a flash of sword light crackling with lightning zipped across the stage from one side to the other with blinding speed. Many in the audience didn't even see Lu Yao make a move.
A cry of agony rang out! Zhong Xiu collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious. This wasn't even a physical strike—it was merely the sword qi. Unable to withstand even the residual sword qi, Zhong Xiu had been knocked out cold on the spot.
"Lu Yao wins!" Zheng Yuanhua announced. Scarcely a single breath of time had passed since the start was called.
A one-hit KO. Between the 4th Layer of Qi Condensation peak and the 2nd Layer of Qi Condensation late stage, the chasm was immense; the outcome was decided in a single move.
Lu Yao stepped down from the arena. Only then did many in the audience open their eyes to watch, having missed the action entirely before it was already over. Applause rang out a beat too late. Yet another section of the crowd sat in absolute silence, their spirits plunged into gloom. In terms of cultivation, they were roughly on par with Zhong Xiu. Seeing Zhong Xiu suffer such a miserable defeat felt like looking into their own future.
Enticing though the outer sect prizes might be, it seemed they had no hope of claiming them.
Zhou Chuan was the only one whose emotional state differed from the rest; Lu Yao had hurt Zhong Xiu, filling him with anger. In that fleeting moment, even though he knew he couldn't beat Lu Yao, he found himself yearning to challenge him.
Up on the high viewing platform:
"I know this kid. His name is Lu Yao, a core disciple heavily groomed by the Lu Family of Qi State. Not yet twenty-three years old, and he has already reached the 4th Layer of Qi Condensation peak!" said Zhao Xiaosheng.
"He's the one who took first place in the entrance trials," Qian Youqiao noted, well aware of the fact.
"Without a doubt, he is the strongest among all the contestants. A spot in the top ten is guaranteed for him, and on top of that, he possesses the lightning spiritual root," Lin Tianyan observed.
"Brother Tian, are you interested in taking him under your wing?" Zhang Jie asked.
"Heh, let's observe a little longer," Lin Tianyan replied.
"If you dawdle, the other Elders might snatch him away," Zhang Jie warned.
The Elders nodded repeatedly, never expecting to unearth such a fine sapling in the very first match.
The thirty matches that followed bore a resemblance to the opener: thoroughly one-sided. Though they didn't end quite as instantly, a victor was invariably decided within ten exchanges. A noticeable gap still existed between the 3rd and 4th Layers of Qi Condensation; for an average person, cultivating through a single layer took three to five years. A vast number of cultivators saw their progress stall around the 4th Layer of Qi Condensation for the rest of their lives, which made the 4th layer a benchmark of formidable strength.
Zhou Chuan watched with intense concentration. Whenever he had encountered fights in the past, his instinct was always to dodge and run away. This was essentially his first time witnessing a proper duel between cultivators. Relying on his fine comprehension skills, he gradually began to grasp the patterns of launching and blocking attacks.
He realized that his offensive methods were still rather lacking and inadequate for a protracted battle; once his tactics were seen through, he would instantly be reduced to a passive state. At the same time, his defensive options were utterly meager. A rank-one protective armor would definitely fail to block attacks from the 3rd Layer of Qi Condensation, let alone the 4th. Once his defense was breached, he would be injured immediately.
"For the fiftieth match, will the contestants please take the stage," Zheng Yuanhua announced.
At this point, the matches finally grew interesting—no longer one-sided, they featured fiercely competitive battles between evenly matched opponents. Because both sides had a genuine chance of winning, they fought with everything they had, delivering a spectacle that was both thrilling and enduring.
Among those stepping onto the stage was an acquaintance of Zhou Chuan: Xiao Shengke. His current cultivation was at the 3rd Layer of Qi Condensation peak, and the opponent he drew happened to be at the exact same level—the 3rd Layer of Qi Condensation peak—while also possessing the wind spiritual root.
Matched against a peer of equal strength, the opening moves of both combatants were primarily probes.
"Pillar-breaking sword style, Wood King Pierce!"
"Talisman activate, Teleportation!"
"Orchid finger strike, Suppressing Heavens!"
"Fierce wind style secondary form, Sweeping the Cosmos!"
"Forest of timber, Ensnaring Art!"
"I'll shatter that! Wind Waves of the Nine Streams!"
The two engaged in a dazzling duel of martial skills, unleashing over twenty sets of techniques and burning through hundreds of Spirit Talismans. By the end, both were entirely drained of Spiritual Power. According to the tournament rules, consuming pills or absorbing spirit stones to replenish Spiritual Power mid-match was strictly prohibited.
Relying on a successful sneak attack, Xiao Shengke narrowly clinched the victory. Still, his win could hardly be called glorious, seeing as ambushes were viewed as somewhat dishonorable.
Returning to the waiting area, Xiao Shengke cast a deeply meaningful look at Zhou Chuan. Zhou Chuan failed to grasp his intent, uncertain whether it was meant as a show of gloating or a direct provocation.
After another stretch of time passed, Zhou Chuan began to grow nervous.
The matches advanced to the seventy-ninth round. By this point, a portion of the defeated contestants, having lost all heart to remain as spectators, quietly slipped away from Brightness Peak.
Word reached Zhou Chuan that Zhong Xiu was severely injured and required half a month of bed rest. This grim piece of news set his fighting spirit ablaze.
"So what if I'm insignificant? Even a mayfly can try to shake a tree—small people have ideals too," he told himself.